Four addictively delicious Asian recipes to please a crowd

There’s something about the range of cuisines across Asia that means I could eat them every day of the week – the vibrant flavours of Vietnam, say, or the hum of Szechuan pepper are just so addictive.

Quite often after I finished working at the Groucho Club back in the old days, I would have a craving for Chinese food. Now, there are only a couple that are open late: Old Town 97 is still full at 3am, as since everyone in the know has that same craving.

There are some great Cantonese, Szechuan and Korean restaurants in Soho, more than there were when I left London at the beginning of lockdown. Some have closed but a lot have opened, especially the little pocket of Korean places north of Shaftesbury Avenue, including Assa and Chung’dam as well as BaoziInn, which takes in the flavours of China and south-east Asia.

Often when I’m cooking for a dinner party, I prepare Japanese or Thai dishes, as the flavours fascinate me and it’s not what I usually cook in my restaurants. Although I’ve never worked in an Asian restaurant, I’ve picked up little methods along the way through friends in the business and from eating out.